To glorify the Way
what should people turn to
to words and deeds that agree
but oceans of greed never fill up
and sprouts of delusion keep growing
a plum tree in bloom purifies a recluse
a patch of potatoes cheers a lone monk
but those who follow rules in their huts
never see the Way or get past
the mountains
Red Pine’s “The Zen Works of Stonehouse”
The past is already past.
Don’t try to regain it.
The present does not stay.
Don’t try to touch it.
From moment to moment.
The future has not come;
Don’t think about it
Beforehand.
Whatever comes to the eye,
Leave it be.
There are no commandments
To be kept;
There’s no filth to be cleansed.
With empty mind really
Penetrated, the dharmas
Have no life.
When you can be like this,
You’ve completed
The ultimate attainment.
Whether you are going
or staying or sitting or lying down,
the whole world is your own self. You must find
out whether the mountains, rivers, grass,
and forests exist in your own mind
or exist outside it.
Analyze the ten thousand things,
dissect them minutely, and when you take this
to the limit you will come to the limitless, when you search
into it you come to the end of search, where thinking goes
no further and distinctions vanish. When you smash
the citadel of doubt, then the Buddha
is simply yourself.
If you forget your
feelings about things of the world,
they become enlightening teachings.
If you get emotional about enlightening
teaching, it becomes a worldly
thing.
“teacher to seven emperors”
grass and trees have buddha nature
Other than the birds,
Who watches over you?
Lordly peaks, your neighbors.
White head held pillowed on a stone.
Grey robe ragged, but not soiled
Chestnuts pile up on your path.
Monkeys circle where you sit.
If you ever set up another zendo,
I swear I’ll be the one who
sweeps the floors.